"Lee Jae-myung Must Die for the Country to Live"... Park Ji-won, 'Fasting Defense'

"Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam Also Protected Democracy Through Fasting"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, declared an indefinite hunger strike on the 31st, while former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won commented on this, saying, "Sa-suk-saeng, Lee Jae-myung must die for the country to live."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is on a hunger strike in front of the National Assembly main building on the 31st. At a press conference marking his first anniversary in office, he announced, "I will start a national resistance against the incompetent and violent regime," and began an indefinite hunger strike. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the same day, former Director Park said through his social media platform Facebook, "Former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam also protected democracy through hunger strikes when they were opposition leaders."

He continued, "The president says to fight, but he is leading us into a 'national disaster era,'" adding, "This is the best struggle against the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, which is destroying democracy, the economy of ordinary people, and inter-Korean diplomatic relations." He emphasized once again, "Lee Jae-myung must die for the country to live."

It appears that former Director Park came to defend Lee’s hunger strike amid criticism from the ruling party calling it a 'bulletproof hunger strike.'

Earlier, Lee held a press conference at the National Assembly to mark the first anniversary of his party leadership and declared an 'indefinite hunger strike.'

Lee said, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration has destroyed the constitutional order and democracy and declared war on the people," adding, "Starting today, as one of the people, I will begin a 'people’s resistance' against this incompetent and violent administration."

He also emphasized, "With the resolve of Sa-suk-saeng (死卽生, meaning 'to live by dying,' signifying a strong determination), I will prevent the destruction of democracy," and "As a last resort, I will start an indefinite hunger strike from today."

Starting at 1 p.m., Lee set up a tent protest site in front of the main building of the National Assembly. He confided to fellow lawmakers, "It is truly embarrassing that we have to resort to hunger strikes," and said, "It’s not about physical exhaustion but concern for the country. If we go back like this, it will really become a primitive society."